Ratty2Austin

If ya'll want to meet up at my work- (Carter Subaru) we could leave from there.. (after stopping just down the street at my apartment to pick up the g/f) I am having NoahDL88 meet me there as well already, and perhaps one more friend in a Forester.... I will be leaving as soon as everyone is there after work on Friday- (so around 5pm-ish) shoot me a message if anyone wants to meet in Shoreline (it is on the way to Highway 2 + 522 you know...) We also might take I-90 to 97, it may be faster....

What!!!! Haven't ya ever heard the saying "Everything is for sale, for the right price" I like the wagon, it's in really good shape now- especially considering I have replaced nearly all the rusty parts and bolts, your (SJR) fabulous lift kit and D/R adaptor kit- NEW driveshaft with greasable U-joints, no major body damage (except a crack in the windshield) entire engine resealed, (NO LEAKS!!!) and a buttload of extra parts... I just moved into an apartment, and I have hopes to go back to school. This leaves me no place for tools (abandoned back at mother's house for when I really need them) or a place to work on the car (cant work on it at the apartment) also very little time to do the mods anymore, or time to go wheel.. you get the idea.... anyway, I will explain more at the show! See you all there!

I will be driving over from Seattle on Friday evening- (after work) But for some reason my 10 year High school reunion is the same day as the show... (back in Seattle) So I will be departing the show around 5pm Saturday... :-\ I will have a bunch of stuff I am bringing to sell/trade (misc subaru parts collected over the years) since I am doing a major garage clean up.... so is there a swap meet section again? or do I just set up shop in the back of my wagon? (Waterwagon3 is also for sale, if anyone is interested ) It will be fun to see everyone again! Just sucks that my time will be cut short this year....

it's not really an outback, but it is a legacy with outback stuff, and an SJR 3" lift on it And a EA D/R 5spd trans with the stock 2.2 see my "waterwagon 3 build thread" for the details....

I have a 98 legacy- with the SJR 3" kit, with outback struts... FYI I also have all my suspension from a 91 legacy wagon (mine was rusty, so I replaced it from a 91 parts car, it all is the same stuff underneath) I have 27x9.5" superswampers, and I have not trimmed anything- I think with some slight trimming you could easily fit 29" tires, as long as they are not 9.5 inches wide- I would go narrower if possible- it would require less trimming/pounding... otherwise just go with some 28's if you can, they would fit a little better

well, life things have gotten a bit hectic, but I have managed to squeeze some time in with working on the wagon, so I have a few photos of the progress and play time adding in some pond liner (thanks Yo'J)! to keep the water, mud, air and sound at bay... yeah, I did not take the most conventional nor the most efficient approach at adjusting where my shift lever went.. (and I will probably need to get a new full linkage at some point and do this over again) but it works, for now (although I can't shift into 5th gear due to this thing hitting the edge of the tunnel) and now it looks a bit better, and is a lot quieter too, while driving... I still need a shift boot (ea82 style?) if anyone has one they want gone that would be awesome I of course had to go drive into the ditch in front of the house, (sway bar attached in the front, so a little less flex now) and I made a appearance at a NASIOC meet and greet today... And this is what happens with the lowered car crowd when they see a lifted subaru!

See the waterwagon3 build thread for all the fine details, but to sum it up- I have (and am running daily) the prototype 3" EJ-lift kit built by SJR and some help from myself, (the final production version is even better, which I helped install into Matt's legacy) I have been driving it daily, I have done a road trip to Canada and back, all around the state, some mild offroad/urban offroad, and of course fully loaded with cargo and people! No problems at all with the lift kit, the install was easy and metal/bolts are great quality. I also am using a re-drilled flywheel and EJ/EA adapter plate for the D/R trans swap, also very easy to install, accurately drilled holes and stud placement! Scott's stuff is definitely worth getting if you want to mod your Subaru

If you are talking about "welding" a center diff on a 4EAT for an EJ, you might just do the simple thing, and flip the duty solenoid "c" around, and keep the wires hot to it? (I think that is what you do, but check with those who have done it) Anyway, it's not a center diff in the autos anyway- its a clutch, just like the rest of the auto's gear sets... you just have to tell the computer/ or solenoid to "enable" that clutch pack 100% of the time, giving you a lock between front/rear.... (or is it just all power to the rear only?) Anyway, the answer to weld center diff on an AT is no, cause there isn't one as far as I know..... (but I could be mistaken)

So Matt has his lift installed, and I made him his steering shaft without trouble Although, he got 29s for his wagon!! so it looks pretty awesome! (with fender trimming though) notice in the pics, the load in the back of the car And yeah, I need to get some wheelin' shots soon- but my exhaust is broken at the cat-mid pipe joint, so it's leakin and making things not run right... :-\ I also have been moving, so no time to get things worked on... but, the new place has a garage and decent driveway- (and its closer to work) so I should be able to get all my major mods done before WCSS12 moving.... the random stuff...

Oh yeah... this is a true thing.... or just be sure to run NO covers like I do now, and wash the bearings right away! Oh, and carry extra bits - a spare T belt or idler pulleys too.... they are not hard to change and the EJ22 from 90-98 is non interference valves here is the disaster that happened to waterwagon 2's engine after I did not clean it (the rust water- it was an IRON MINE ORV park....) here is the pulley, missing it's balls... easy fix, as long as you have the spare parts...

Have you checked out my Waterwagon 3 build thread yet? I think the legacy would be a wonderful offroader, compared to the 83... seeming has how i have owned both (a few each) 83 GLs and 90's legacys.... and I have found that the suspension on the EJ cars are much better at flexing and maintaining their alignment than the older EA stuff.... true it is easier to make an EA car offroad-able for less money, but when you consider that an EA81 only puts out about 72-something HP at best when running great, (which is hard to do with a carbed engine these days with all that ethanol in the gas...) and the EJ22 puts out a good 130-ish HP out of the box and with FI it's pretty easy to keep running smoothly.... that's just what I have to say about it though, I do have a liking towards the EA cars though, I think they are fun and simplistic.... but old tech now that I have driven the new stuff.... oh, and more food for thought- if you are wanting another reason to wheel the EJ car over the EA car, is the distributor vrs coil pack- EJ has no moving parts for it's electronic part of the ignition, and if you get a distributor wet (or even damp, or mis-adjusted, or dirty, etc) it sucks. trust me on this one- or see the following video on why an EJ and a snorkel are awesome!

Wooooohooooo!!!! It's drivable again!! I got the driveshaft installed today, and things are coming together! (although I have some things to work out and tweak into the right places, etc..) Today's work... Here is the shifter knobs- notice how at rest, this is the "before" photo of the 5spd stick- it's way off to the side... that does not work well (still shifts right, I Just have to reach way across the car, and I already have long arms) Next to cut the tabs off the shift link, and re-weld them in a slightly different spot, and bend the crap out of the lever- (still needs bending, but I will get to that later) here it is, back installed and in it's new spot... The other key ingredient, is the Driveshaft- now NEW and lengthened in Yakima (with new grease-able bearings!) A little comic paint job, to spice things up a bit too... (watch out! it's venomous now!) and it drives nicely!! a little loud with the tires, but FWD, 4wd and 4wd-lo work like they should! (now I need to go find some terrain to get some bettah photos)

Yep! actually, I forgot to post the next photo, I have 2 PD shift knobs, one for each lever! (one is black, one is silver with a blue top)

more.... here is the D/R trans from underneath, mounted... note that the former EJ-rear trans lift blocks are no longer needed (might be used later for skid plate mounts or exhaust brackets?) now the interior looks like this... notice the rust on the clutch stuff- this was after I attacked it with the wire wheel for a bit- the PP and disc I pulled out of a scrap pile, which was sitting outside in rusty water pool for about a year or so.. it will be fine! sometimes it's just easier to get in there with your engine while bolting things in... looks like Scott's EJ-EA stuff works pretty nicely!! (easy to install!) engine bolted in and things bolted back on.... for those who are wondering what to do with the pitching stopper, if you do the 3" SJR lift AND/OR D/R swap, I re-drilled the hole where the top bolt goes into the bracket that is part of the firewall... then the bottom (trans) side has the slider, and the bracket can be interchanged between the EJ and EA trans (you will need the bracket from the EJ trans if you have an EJ car) Since the pitching stopper is composite- you can't just lengthen and weld it... some might think that is easier. (but you could just use an older metal one and do it that way) and if you are wondering, the tape on the heater hoses (that are NEW) is actually just electrical tape with some pop can in there for armor- so it wont rub thru on the places that it touches the body/brackets... I guess the alternate plan would be to make some mounts and zip tie them, or just get generic hoses later on... I think i'm defenately gonna have to do something about that low hanging exhaust... estimated time for completion of the driveshaft- mid next week, it's still out at the shop in Yakima... after that, it's snorkel time, and finishing touches on the D/R swap... then more more more! (skid plates, stereo system, paint job/stickers?)

Here are some pics of my (sorta) recent work, since I have been busy and not posting them.. but now that I have gotten around to uploading them, here are some of the pics to go with the things I have done! I have already posted a pic of the engine, finished- but here it is apart/close up.... Ohhh mechanical adjust lifters! resealing the leaky things.... something else I will need to address soon, is repairing/replacing my exhaust stuff... it seems to have a tiny bit of rust.... strangely enough, it does not leak! next on the menu, was to swap trans from EJ AWD 5MT to the EA D/R 5spd.... before.... side by side... the one on the left is the EJ 5MT, the right is the EA 5spd D/R.... notice the location of the crossmembers? the EJ is just a little wider though, so I will use the EJ's X-member, and re-drill the holes where the EA mounts on the tranny bolt onto it... the wiring is easy- the neutral and reverse switches just unscrew from the EJ trans, and go right back into the same places on the EA trans- the switch bodies are the same! this makes that easy... the 4wd lights will just be custom later on... the "speed sensor" replaces the speedo cable, and screws right into the same spot! (and it works just fine too!) all empty, and ready for the new pieces to go back in... and now the trans is in!

True, but enough of them are, that all the ones I had in my "pile" did interchange, so its pretty good odds you can get the combo you need in a day at the junk yard

I did some playing around with the axles- I found out that if you disassemble the DOJ side, you can use the DOJ cups and innards form either EA82 23 spline axles, OR the rear DOJs from gen1 legacy/imp axles.... they fit onto the standard 25 spline style front axles! (to make them 23 spline legacy/impreza axles) I have a pile of axles and bits that I will get photos of, and hopefully be able to lable- so that everyone will know which ones fit where and how to do it! So yeah, you don't have to use FWD 93 MT axles anymore (unless you have them that is) just grab a bunch of axles and mix-n-match the ends till you get the length and spline count you need! pics coming soon.... Oh, and Thanks Jerry!!! (for helping me get my driveshaft to the Yakima driveline shop) hopefully in a week Waterwagon 3 will be driving on all 4!

Hurray!! Good to hear you made it no problems! Hoping to see some photos of your trip at some point too!

Hurray!!! It drives down the street under it's own power!!! (in FWD mode, that is!) Still need a rear driveshaft.... Got one priced out (custom, new) at a shop in Kirkland, but they want like... 500+ bucks for it I am hoping someone has a cheaper driveshaft makin' shop in mind? (Jerry? Scott?) Other than the driveshaft, the remaining mods (for now) are the snorkel, and finishing touches on the new D/R shifter console... (and also, BFH-ing the inner fender wells or removing splash guards so that the tires and struts stop rubbing...)

Seattle, Wa.... (technically Brier, but who's counting) and I work at Carter Subaru Shoreline!

to clarify, what year/model of subaru are you trying to lift? if it's a loyale/GL/DL- than you should skip trying to make the legacy/forester/outback struts work (unless you DO the 5-lug swap, but that's even harder than just lifting AND usually in the long run, more expensive too) 4wd GL wagons seemed to have the tallest struts out of the bunch? (or maybe it was a certain year/ had adjustable one's for the rear too...) another way to get some lift- bigger tires. If you have an EA car, just trim the fenders a little, and you can fit 27's in there pretty easily without a lift or funky adjusted struts...

This weekend I spent a bunch of time resealing waterwagon's engine, and preparing it for the D/R swap.... so far today, all I managed to get done was the engine clean up.... although, it seems to have lost some weight (belt covers are over rated anyway) more pics later... tomorrow I am hoping to get the D/R trans installed and get the engine re-installed..

I am going to do this on my Legacy- with the stock A/C compressor... I will take lots of photos, and do a full write up of how it's done, when it's done..... My opinions on why you should use the A/C compressor over the electric ones- 1) you probably already have an A/C compressor on your car, and if the car is as old and beat as most of the ones I see on the forum, it probably does not blow cold air anyway. 2) it already has all the "connections" it needs to run off your engine- provided your belt is still there, and you have enough wire to connect the 12v signal to engage the clutch... 3) it can probably be used almost continuously (as long as it's lubed) and it wont have overheating troubles.... 4) volume of air... (as stated earlier in the thread) to inflate either a flat, or 4 aired down tires is much quicker and easier if you have your car just idling and an onboard air tank already full (from when you were driving and compressing) 5) (most importantly) its cool :cool:

am going to install the dual range trans tomorrow, so hopefully I can get it all figured out very soon and drivable again!! then we can go play!

Sweet! I just begun my D/R swap on my wagon.... 98 legacy brighton wagon! I have the SJR adaptor plate and redrilled EA82 flywheel... I also have a pile of stock legacy axles and some rear DOJ cups (23 spline) I will have pics of the progress posted in my waterwagon 3 build thread